Tender Moments
by Rikkumi
Summary: Scenes between Cloud and Aerith throughout FF VII. K ; rating subject to change. Based off actual scenes and dialogue with some headcanon of mine thrown in.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, Rikkumi here. I started playing FF VII a little while back and some of the scenes between them are so adorable . . .so I decided to make this. Each chapter is a different scene between the two. Not the best writing, but this is just a side-project of mine because too many good moments to pass up without some of my fangirly-ness out. Please excuse me for this. |D The majority of the dialogue is taken straight from the game, with a few exceptions and an addition a little later on, heheh.**

**Edit: Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ I really enjoyed this scene so I'm glad you all liked it. **

"Wait...wait I said!"Aerith huffed, trying to quicken her pace—and failing. She stumbled over the piles of debris of the slums, catching herself on part of an old tower. "Cloud, stop!"

Cloud looked back; had the flower girl he had met earlier and just saved from Shinra asked _him_ to stop for _her_?

"Slow…down…Don't leave me…"

He smirked. "Funny. I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?"

"Oh!" She laughed, trotting over to his side and trying not to slip. "You're terrible!"

Cloud shook his head and chuckled at the silly girl before him.

"Hey Cloud," she asked before he could turn back and start moving again, "were you…ever in…SOLDIER?"

He looked away. "…I used to be. How'd you guess?"

She smiled. "Your eyes. They have a…strange glow."

"That's the sign of those who've been infused with Mako." Taking a step back now, he added, "A mark of SOLDIER." He glanced up at Aerith, who seemed to be nervously fidgeting with the buttons on her dress. "But, how did you know that?"

She looked as though she wanted to say something, but instead bit her lip. "…Oh, nothing."

His eyebrow was raised in question. "Nothing?"

She nodded, and said a bit too cheerfully, "Right, nothing!" She grinned as she said, "Come on, let's go! _Bodyguard!"_

Although confused about her knowledge of SOLDIER—which was rare among a slum girl—he shrugged and surged forward, once again leaving Aerith behind in the dust.

"Please, wait!" She cried.

Finally, he skidded to a stop. "You really _are_ slow." There was a mocking tone in his voice.

Slightly embarrassed, she said, "Sorry…I know I'm not the best, but at least I'm trying—!"

Before she could finish her sentence, the spiky-headed blonde had scooped her up off her feet and adjusted her in his arms.

"W-what are you doing?" She tried to sound mad, and failed miserably.

"Carrying you."

"And why is that?"

"It's faster than if you walk, right?"

She couldn't protest further, as he already had her firmly in his grasp. Quickly he maneuvered through the rubble and towards Sector Seven and the bar. She let herself close her eyes, more comfortable than she would have thought, when he decided to jump down a pole instead of walking on it. Her eyes flew open and a small shout escaped her lips; without thinking her arms wrapped around his neck, shoving her face in his chest for protection.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "We were six feet from the ground. It's not that scary."

"Yes it _is!"_

"Fine," he sighed, and pretended to dump her on the ground, swinging her so close that her braid barely grazed it.

She screamed anyway. "Noooo, Cloud! Don't—please don't—huh?" Puzzled, she looked up to his face. She could feel his body shaking; was he…crying? "Ah, I-I'm okay, Cloud, you don't need to…Oh."

He was shaking all right…with _laughter._

"It's not _that _funny," she said grumpily, puffing out her cheeks as he smoothly set her back down.

He was attempting to choke down his laughter, but it wasn't working. "It's hilarious. When you started screaming 'nooo', ha-hah…you were cute."

"You're mean—wait, what?" Had she heard him right?

Instead of responding, he mumbled, "Nothing," shaking his head a little as he said it. But there was a flush to his face, and as they started walking again, he took her wrist in his hand. "Don't want you to get kidnapped by those Turks," he explained as they continued through the cool evening air.

She simply beamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is mainly a headcanon based off the scene in Cosmo Canyon. I picture Cloud and Aerith as "kind-of" dating at this point-they both like each other but no one has officially said anything. Barret just has a keen eye, haha. I'm not really writing these in a particular order, but I recently went through this scene in-game and wanted to write what I wished would have been the way it happened. (This is why I love headcanons.)** **Most of this dialogue is _not_ taken directly from the script. The only part from the script starts when Aerith talks about how the elders taught her many things and ends with Cloud asking if that means they can't help. Again, this is all done for fun so it's not my best writing, but I feel I need to do this for myself *laughs*. Alright, thanks!**

The moon shone down on Cosmo Canyon that night; a slowly-dying campfire cast eerie shadows on the members of AVALANCHE as they gathered around it in silence. Cloud Strife approached the group and bobbed his head as he passed Barret, dropping his exhausted body down next to Aerith's. He stared into the flames for a while, as it crackled and dissipated into the cool late evening air. Quiet whispers from the canyon's natives were the only audible sounds; everyone was tired from a long day, stressed from the discovery of just how quickly their planet was dying.

…No one was in a talking mood.

Yuffie was the first to stand up. "Well, this is boring. I'm heading to bed." Cait Sith soon followed suit—except instead of 'heading to bed', he trotted off to the kitchen for a late-night snack.

Tifa left quietly, but not before stopping in front of a certain spiky-haired young man. "Cloud, I…" The blonde looked up, startled out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped herself quickly. "Ah…good night."

"Night."

Sighing to herself, the shy fighter made her way towards the inn.

And so there were three.

Barret shot a long glance at Cloud before sighing and pushing himself off the ground. "Fine, I'll leave." Reluctantly he turned to walk away, but not before giving his friend a stern look. He muttered something about Cloud's "no-good intentions" and at last left.

Finally, they were alone.

Aerith spoke first. "I learned a lot. The elders taught me many things. About the Cetra…And the Promised Land...I'm... alone. I'm all alone now." She turned to face her bodyguard, pink lips pouted and honest sadness shown on her face.

Cloud looked over to her, blue eyes filled with unusual concern. "But I'm…we're here for you, right?"

She shook her head. "I know. I know, but...I am the only...Cetra."

His heart ached at her words, wishing he could comfort her somehow. "Does that mean we can't help?" The flower girl turned away from him then, and shivered, drawing her thin jacket closer to her small frame. He blinked. "You cold?"

"Of course not. I'm fine!" Just then, another shiver erupted from her spine. "Er, okay. Maybe I'm not so fine."

Wordlessly, he wrapped his muscular arms around Aerith, bringing her into a tight hug. She leaned into his chest and smiled. "You're warm."

He chuckled. "Thank you."

They sat like this in silence for a few moments.

"Hey Cloud?"

"Mm?"

"…Do you really think the Promised Land exists?"

He looked up unto the starry black sky, pondering her question. "I…I don't know. Do you?"

"…I hope so. I really, really do."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, I haven't updated this or uploaded anything in so long! I'm going to try and change that...haha, if anyone even cares. I'll do it anyway! Basically, all of my Clerith feelings came rushing back to me in one overwhelming rush this morning, so I wrote. This dialogue was taken directly from the original Final Fantasy VII, albeit a few tweaks (i.e. "I don't know" becoming "I...I don't know"). My writing =/= quality. Keep that in mind if you choose to read this! Alright, I'll stop talking now. **

Cloud is pacing loudly and making sleep a _very_ difficult thing for Tifa Lockhart this evening. She understands that they've been locked up by Shinra, that their chance of escape is slim, and that the SOLDIER boy has a lot on his shoulders right now, but that's no reason to burn pointless energy. Still, she can't bring herself to tell him to stop, because he's Cloud and he'll do what he'll do.

"I wonder how Aerith is doing."

Tifa lets a deep sigh she's been holding far too long escape her lips, biting down on her tongue to avoid saying anything rash. She knows Cloud's been thinking about Aerith, knows she's the one he's most concerned about, but could he at least feign some interest in the young woman who's locked up in the same cell as him?

A strong, feminine voice interjects on her thoughts. "Cloud, are you there?"

On the bright side of things, Tifa is glad Aerith isn't there to see the spiky-headed blonde whip his head towards the sound of her voice and widen his blue eyes like a little lost puppy.

"Aerith!" He shouts, a mixture of excitement and concern in his tone. "You safe?"

"Yeah," she calls from the other side of the wall, "I'm all right." There's peaceful silence for a moment as Cloud leans against said wall, breathing deeply as his shoulders relax. "I knew Cloud would come for me."

At that, he smiles. "I'm your bodyguard, right?"

"The deal was for one date, right?" You can actually _hear_ the grin in both of their voices.

Tifa clicks her tongue. "... oh, I get it."

"...!" Aerith gasps, trying to find words and at last managing, "Tifa! Tifa, you're there, too!"

"EXCUSE me." The fighter snaps, tone sharp and stance edgy as she sits upright on the bed. "You know, Aerith...I have a question."

Aerith sounds taken aback, almost scared, when she says, "What?"

"Does the Promised Land really exist?" She doesn't mean to sound so snippy—it's an honest question that's been on her mind for a while now—but the words come out that way all the same.

"I...I don't know."

Tifa raises an eyebrow at Cloud, who's looking at her like she's the wicked witch or worse. So what if it's a sensitive topic? She's curious.

"All I know is..." The flower girl takes a deep breath before continuing. "The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet." Her voice drips of depth, as if the rich knowledge of thousands of elders has been passed on in her. "And... then... the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

All of Tifa's anger and annoyance at the woman on the other side has melted away, and now she is left entranced by the older girl's speech, as it weaves ancient ideals into her mind. She feels relaxed, as if she could say or do anything and feel completely at ease, so she asks, "What does that mean?"

It's as if Aerith has been snapped out of a trance. "More than words...I don't know."

Cloud speaks up now, his face contorted as he tries to think through it all. "...Speak with the Planet?"

"Just what does the planet say?" Tifa adds.

The Cetra seems overwhelmed now as she answers, "It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying."

Cloud is soft when he asks, "You hear it now?"

Aerith is becoming increasingly distressed, responding, "I, I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is...my real mother."

A shiver runs up Tifa's spine as she feels the heavy weight of sadness looming down on them.

"Someday I'll get out of Midgar...Speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land." She sounds determined for a moment, until they hear her shoulders slump against the wall and she whispers, "...That's what mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but..."

With that, it's non-verbally decided that the conversation is over.

Cloud tells Tifa he's going to get some sleep, and leans against the wall they share with Aerith's cell, letting his tired eyes close as he rubs his shoulders. But Tifa wakes up in the middle of the night and hears him talking gently to her, the last Cetra, through the thin metal, soothing her as much as he can as she cries herself to sleep.


End file.
